Softball Heads to Penn For Ivy League Championship Series

HANOVER, N.H. – The Dartmouth softball team secured its first North Division title since 2009, with a 3-1 series victory over Harvard last weekend and secured a spot in the 2013 Ivy League Championship Series against Penn, May 4-5.

The Dartmouth softball team (25-18), on the heels of its first North Division title since 2009, looks to capture its first Ivy League title when it travels to Philadelphia for the Ivy League Championship series with Penn this weekend. The Championship series opens with doubleheader action on Saturday (May 4) and will conclude with a single game on Sunday (May 5), if necessary.

BIG GREEN TIDBITSNorth Division Champions! – Dartmouth claimed its second North Division title by winning its final regular season series against Harvard, 3-1. The Big Green split the first two games of the series in Hanover before traveling to Cambridge and sweeping the Crimson. The win snaps Harvard’s three-year streak of North Division titles. The Big Green last won the North Division in 2009.

Ivy League Championship Series Bound – By virtue of winning the North Division, the Big Green will play for the Ivy League Championship this weekend. It will be Dartmouth’s second appearance in the Ivy League Championship Series, the last coming in 2009 against Cornell. Should the Big Green win the series against Penn, they will earn the Ivy’s automatic bid to the 2013 NCAA Tournament. The Big Green are looking for their first Ivy League title and first NCAA tournament berth.

Another Week, More Awards – Dartmouth picked up two more Ivy League awards this week as rookies Morgan McCalmon (Norman, Okla.) and Katie McEachern (San Diego, Calif.) shared Ivy League Rookie of the Week honors after leading the Big Green to the North Division title last weekend. McCalmon went 2-0 in the circle and tossed a career-best 10 strikeouts in the Big Green’s 5-4 eight-inning win. While McCalmon was tearing it up in the circle, McEachern put up her team-best 10th home run of the season in what proved to be the game-winning run against the Crimson.

A Regular-Season For the Ages – The Big Green certainly made their presence felt throughout the regular season in 2013. The Big Green’s 25 wins are the most for the softball program since recording 23 wins in 2009. The Big Green last had more than 23 wins in 2006 when they posted 26 wins. Additionally, Katie McEachern (San Diego, Calif.) and Hillary Hubert (Grant Park, Ill.) set single-season records for home runs (10) and hits (57). The Big Green’s 15 Ivy League wins are a new program record and the most since 2009 when Dartmouth scored 13 victories.

Talkin’ About Streaks – Although the Big Green had its eight-game winning streak snapped with a loss to Harvard in the series opener, there are several Dartmouth streaks still intact. Kristen Rumley(Katy, Texas) is riding a nine-game hitting streak, tying the longest streak of the season for a Dartmouth player, while Morgan McCalmon (Norman, Okla.) enters the weekend with hits in eight straight games. Rumley has also reached base 12 consecutive times, one shy of reaching the season record of 13 set by Kara Curosh (Munster, Ind.).

Katie Adams Steals the Show on Senior Weekend – Senior Katie Adams (Kent, Wash.) made her final weekend of the regular season count. Adams batted 1.000 this weekend going 5-of-5 with two home runs and seven RBI. Adams was most impressive on the road against the Crimson. In the second game, Adams nailed a three-run home run in the second inning and followed with a two-run homer in the third inning. She joined classmate Hillary Hubert(Grant Park, Ill.) as the Dartmouth players to hit multiple home runs in one game.

It’s Not Just the Rumley Show – Sophomore Kristen Rumley (Katy, Texas) has deservedly gotten the majority of the accolades in the circle but this weekend Morgan McCalmon (Norman, Okla.) proved that she’s got an arm too! McCalmon went 2-0 on the weekend and in 10 innings pitched, scattered eight hits allowing just two runs while striking out 22 batters. She posted a career-best 10 strikeouts in the Big Green’s 5-4 eight-inning win to clinch the North Division.

McEachern Home Run Clinches North Division Title – Katie McEachern (San Diego, Calif.) has a bat and she’s got a penchant for the long ball as evidenced by her single-season record of 10 home runs set this season. She nailed arguably the biggest home run of her young career against Harvard on Sunday. With the Big Green and Crimson tied 4-4, McEachern nailed a shot over the outfield wall in the eighth-inning in what turned out to be the game-winning run.

Extra Innings, No Problem – The Big Green are no strangers to extra innings, playing eight extra inning games this season, including three in Ivy League action. Dartmouth has won three of those games none more important than the extra inning win over Harvard. The eight extra-inning contests are the most for the team in the last decade!

Records are Meant to Be Broken – That has been the motto for the Dartmouth softball team this season as several longstanding records have been broken this season. Hillary Hubert(Grant Park, Ill.) set the new single-season record for hits with 57 entering this weekend. The previous record was 51 set by Sarah Damon back in 2000 and 1999. Katie McEachern (San Diego, Calif.) also set the single-season home run record with 10 homers and the single-season RBI record with 37. McEachern is also nearing the single-season runs record. She currently has 27 just four shy of tying the record set by Noelle Ramirez in 2011. Kelsey Miller (Mansfield, Texas) is one double shy of tying the single-season doubles record and is two shy of tying the triples record. As a team, Dartmouth has tied the record for consecutive wins with eight and also for consecutive Ivy League wins with eight. Additionally, the Big Green have set a new record for doubles (16) and RBI (191).

Rumley Re-writing the Record Books - Southpaw Kristen Rumley (Katy, Texas) continues to set new marks in the Big Green pitching records and last weekend was no exception. With a win last weekend, she picked up her 21st win this season and joins Christine Quattrocchi as the only pitchers in program history with at least 20 wins in a season. Quattrocchi has the single season record of 22, which is still in reach for Rumley this season.

Another Day, Another Series Win – The Big Green did damage in the North Division this season dropping only one game to North Division teams and that coming in the final weekend of the regular-season. Dartmouth closed the regular season with wins in 11 of its last 12 games, including tying a program-best with eight consecutive wins.

Rank Em’ – Dartmouth is making some noise in the national rankings. As a team, Dartmouth is ranked third in the country in triples per game at 0.37. Individually, Kristen Rumley (Katy, Texas) is ranked in the top 50 in several categories. She’s 19th in walks allowed per seven innings (1.08), 28th in victories (21.0) and 31st in shutouts (6). Katie McEachern (San Diego, Calif.) is the 33rd toughest to strikeout while Kelsey Miller (Mansfield, Texas) is ranked 33rd in triples with four.

Welcome to the Team – Dartmouth welcomes a six-member freshman class this season. The Big Green rookies hail from all over the country, with two players coming from the Texas. Donning the Green and White for the first time are: Kathy Dzienkowski(Austin, Texas), Alex Jarvis (Tustin, Calif.), Brianna Lohmann(Belle Glade, Fla.), Morgan McCalmon (Norman, Okla.), Katie McEachern (San Diego, Calif.) and Kelsey Miller (Mansfield, Texas). Welcome aboard!

Welcome to Dartmouth, Coach Hart - Assistant coach Ali Hart joins the Dartmouth softball staff this season. Hart hails from Atlanta, Ga., and was an All-American at Williams College where she graduated in 2012.

A Look at the CompetitionPenn– Penn enters the weekend with a 28-17, 16-4 Ivy record after taking a 3-1 series win over Columbia in the final weekend of the regular season. The Quakers, who will be hosting the 2013 Ivy League Championship series, have won 10 of their last 12 games. Brooke Coloma leads the Penn offense and is batting .347 with a team best 45 hits and 35 RBI on the season. She is slugging .500 and has 13 extra base hits on the year. Coloma is also speedy on the bases, a perfect 17-of-17 on stolen base attempts. Alexis Borden is the ace of the pitching staff and has a 2.40 ERA and 15-9 record in 27 appearances. She enters the weekend with 160.1 innings pitched allowing just 55 earned runs and a team-best 149 strikeouts. Lauren Li and Lindsay Mann each sport a 6-2 record in a combined 17 starts. Penn is making its second consecutive appearance in the Ivy League Championship Seriese while the Big Green are looking to become the first road team to claim the Ivy League title. Head coach Leslie King is in her 10th year at Penn.

Skipper Hanson Back for Third Season - Head coach Rachel Hanson returns for her third season as head of the Dartmouth softball team. Hanson has a 31-47 record in her two years at Dartmouth and has led the Big Green to back-to-back second place finishes in the North Division. Assistant coach Lindsay Vanover returns for her third season while Ali Hart is entering her first season on staff.

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